Now Hear this: Daria Teodorowych on escaping the 2003 bushfire

In 2003, at the age of 16, Daria Teodorowych was at home alone with her 11 year old brother in Chifley when bushfires hit Mount Taylor.

"Chifley had a whole lot of spot fires along the back of Mount Taylor," she told the Now Hear This: Out of the Ashes Audience, "And basically it had this black rolling cloud that went over it and you could look at the sun and it was just red."

Having not only responsibility for her young brother but also an elderly neighbour who was having breathing difficulties, Daria Teodorowych found she had to grow up pretty quickly.

"It sort of started to dawn that things were suddenly getting a whole lot more serious and I definately had that defining moment ... that I was responsible and there was nothing I could do about it."

After packing their precious possessions into a car that she didn't know how to drive (but was prepared to give it a go) her mother arrived home and took her and her brother to safety.